Geocaching update

This post is really just a reason to share some scenic photos taken on the weekend.  The weather here has been really pleasant, not much snow, sunny days with daylight hours from around 8am-7pm. 

On Sunday I spent the afternoon with my geocaching buddies Patricia and Bjarki and visited a place called Hrafnagil (Ravens gully) where we had to hike into a small canyon to find the cache.  

We  scrambled over rocks...they are quite loose and seem to just balance precariously in place.

The cache was not too hard to find although I did end up on my bottom as I reached up to retrieve the cache...the rock, the cache and me came tumbling down...all is well as I seem to have plenty of padding in that area.

Next stop was near the deserted farm Illugastaðir not far from Sauðárkrókur.  This is truly a beautiful spot.

The sun was shining and blue skies were breaking through the clouds.

 it was spectacular!

 Patricia and Bjarki retrieving the cache,

the area looks so isolated

yet there are two houses on opposite hillsides...the pink one definitely looks lived in...they certainly suit the hermit in me

On the way back home we called in to Grettislaug so Patricia and Bjarki could do the cache there (I have done this one before a couple of times when I have had overseas visitors).  So while they were on the hunt I took a few photos. 

Drangey was bathed in light with moody sky.

 Hopefully this summer I get the chance to take a trip there to see the puffins.

Monday Ice: The Puffin

Image via Wikipedia

Icelanders have a cultural and historical relationship to Puffins. In years past Puffin was relied upon as a survival staple food but whilst it still is consumed regularly, today it has also become an iconic symbol of Iceland, like the Koala or Kangaroo is to Australia.  The Puffin usually mate for life, and don't start breeding until they are 5 years old.  The Puffin has not been an endangered specie and is not under threat by human consumption, however through global warming their natural food supply that they feed their young is diminishing and their breeding rate is on the decline.  Puffins rely on a tiny fish known as Sand Eel to feed their young but as this food supply dwindles so do their numbers.

 Puffins on Drangey Island Iceland, photographed by son Jesse summer of 2009

 Drangey Island, North West Iceland
The first video is a lovely close up look at the Puffin in their natural habitat.

Iceland 2009: Lundi from partylogger on Vimeo.

This second video is a National Geographic documentary addressing the issue of dwindling numbers.

This next one is of children in the Westmann Islands trying to save baby Puffins who get a little disoriented by the town street lights and confuse their flight plan.

Puffins from sonja phillips on Vimeo.

Puffin as said before is still a culinary delight in Iceland and is pretty much on the menu of most restaurants!

Image via Wikipedia

Below is a video of Puffin prepared and served in the Vox Restaurant in Reykjavik.  If you want to know how to catch and cook Puffin see earlier post here with Gordon Ramsey.

Monday Ice: Food, Glorious Food!

Well as many of you will have seen in previous posts...I struggled to eat some of the traditional Icelandic food particularly the stinky fish, rotten shark and blood pudding.  A little warning here if you are vegetarian this is probably not the post for you...especially the Gordon Ramsey videos.
There are quite a few videos on Youtube of people trying the fermented shark, I have just picked a couple,  this first video explains the process of preparing the shark and the associated traditional Þorrablót.

This next video is of Ian Wright sampling the fermented shark...his reaction closely imitates mine...I had a lot of trouble swallowing it and keeping it down.

Probably my favourite new food that I tried when in Iceland was Horse/Foal...it was tasty, lean and very tender.  I could not bring myself to try whale for the obvious reasons and I did not have the chance to try Puffin and not sure that I would be able to as they look so cute.

Puffins on the Island Drangey...pic taken by my son Jesse last year in Iceland.

This video part 1 and 2 are of Gordon Ramsey hunting and cooking Puffin in Iceland and of course  as it is Ramsey there is a language warning.

My son Ross last year on Drangey Island choosing not to hunt Puffin but having fun chasing and catching a different type of animal species.

To recover from Ramsey settle down and enjoy the magic of Sigur Rós and Heima part 4.

6 degrees of separation!

Today's temperature is 6 degrees, yesterday was a sweltering 9. Within 2 days the snow has disappeared...separated from Saudarkrokur for the time being...hopefully it will come back before I leave. I am amazed it happens so quickly, a transformation from pure white to chocolate coloured mountains surrounding the town.
Yesterday we went for a drive outside of Saudarkrokur to look at the location of a few properties I may be interested in....will try and see them internally this coming week. Everything here is positioned in a picture perfect settings!

Views of a farm 16k's from SaudarkrokurView from another property with the island Drangey in the distance.

I have taste tested a few Icelandic traditional foods...managed to keep the smelly fish down and we had a rye bread desert that is soaked in water which was quite nice with cream and I love horse, have now had that curried, roasted, goulashed and stirfried. Icelanders like sweet food, they always sugar the mashed potatoes which is taking a little getting used to...they use very little salt and there is no salt shaker on the dinner table. However they do put salt in porridge and cannot fathom why we would want sugar in it. One that I really had trouble with was blood pudding (not dessert...this is a main meal) made from sheep blood, suet, rye and a little water all stitched up in to the lining of a sheep's stomach....plus you sprinkle with sugar before you eat. One mouthful was enough for Ross, Olga and myself...Sigga ended up ordering a pizza for us and Freyja the dog kindly eat our left overs.

Blood pudding!